Dairy cow shed: space, floor, roof and cooling

A good shed keeps your cows and buffaloes dry, cool and clean, and makes milking easier. It need not cost much: a simple shed on high ground, with enough space, a rough sloping floor, a drain, a manger and water, does the job. This chapter gives the sizes and materials that TNAU, NDDB and ICAR-CIRB recommend.

Choose the spot

• High, well-drained ground, higher than the land around it so that rain and washing water run away, about 100 m from a main road, with water close by (TNAU).
• Long side east–west. Run the shed's long axis east–west, so that direct sun stays out of the shed most of the year (TNAU). NDDB advises this wherever it is 30 °C or more for up to 5 hours a day; north–south suits cooler areas (NDDB).
• Few walls. In warm areas, leave the sides open and wall only the side of strong winds, usually the west (NDDB). NDDB's model shed is open on three sides, with the manger along the western wall and a yard with 2–3 shade trees on the east (NDDB).

Space for each animal

Animal	Floor under the roof	Good to know
Cow, tied in a row	about 55–70 sq ft	NDDB's stall is 5.5 × 10 ft; TNAU allows 65–70 sq ft
Cow, loose in a yard	about 40 sq ft	within about 160 sq ft in all
Buffalo	30–40 sq ft	plus 80–100 sq ft of open yard
Calf under 3 months	20–25 sq ft	in its own pen at first
Calf of 3–6 months	25–30 sq ft	in small groups
Young stock of 6–12 months	30–40 sq ft	away from the adults
Heifer over 1 year	40–45 sq ft
Cow about to calve	100–150 sq ft	a calving box with soft bedding

Sources: cows — NDDB, TNAU; loose housing — NDDB; buffaloes — ICAR-CIRB; calves, heifers and the calving box — TNAU. NABARD's planning figure for a two-animal shed is 65 sq ft per cow, calf included, or 70 sq ft per buffalo (NABARD).

Floor, slope and drain

• Hard and rough. The floor should be easy to clean and dry and never slippery: bricks work, and grooved concrete is better (TNAU). You should be able to walk on it barefoot in comfort, and it should show no slip marks (NDDB).
• A gentle slope. Slope the standing floor towards a drain behind the animals, about 1.5%, which is roughly 1.5 cm for every metre (NDDB).
• An open drain about 8 inches wide and 3 inches deep, with a 1% slope, carries away urine and washing water (NDDB).
• Raise the floor at least 1 ft above the ground outside (TNAU).

Roof, height and air

• Height. TNAU suggests about 8 ft at the sides and 15 ft at the ridge, which gives each adult cow about 800 cubic feet of air (TNAU).
• Roof. Tiles or cement sheets are suitable; bare iron sheets make the shed very hot, so paint them silver on top (TNAU). Thatch of coconut or palmyra leaves or straw is cheap and cool, but it catches fire easily and must be renewed every 1–2 years (TNAU). Buffaloes are more comfortable under thatch than under asbestos or tin (ICAR-CIRB).
• Air. Fit one ventilator of 3 × 1 ft per animal near the roof, and hang gunny-cloth curtains on the open sides in winter (NDDB). Air inside should move at least 1 metre a second, with no smell of ammonia (NDDB).

Manger and water trough

• Manger. NDDB's model manger is 2 ft wide and 1.5 ft deep, along the western wall (NDDB). Allow 2–2½ ft of manger length per cow (TNAU) and about 2.5 ft per buffalo (ICAR-CIRB).
• Water trough. Run a trough about 10 inches wide along the manger, so that clean water is always in front of the animals; it also cuts the fodder they waste (TNAU). NDDB suggests about 3 cubic feet of trough for each adult, in the shade (NDDB). Clean it often.

Calf pen, calving pen and sick pen

• Calf pen. Keep calves away from the adult animals, in their own pens for at least the first month and if possible 3 months, then in groups of 3–5 (TNAU). Keep the pen dry and free of draughts, with the water bucket outside so the bedding stays dry (TNAU). See Calf care: colostrum, milk feeding, weaning and pens.
• Calving pen. A clean, airy box of about 100–150 sq ft with soft bedding (TNAU); move her in 2 weeks before she is due (NDDB). Without a pen, tie her apart on clean, dry ground, in sight, on a rope long enough for her to move and lick her calf (TNAU). See Cow and buffalo breeding: heat signs, AI and calving.
• Sick or new animals. Keep an isolation box away from the other sheds (TNAU) for a sick or newly bought animal. See the first 30 days at home.

Keeping cows and buffaloes cool

• Water and shade first. In summer, bathe crossbred cows and buffaloes twice a day and give them at least 100 litres of water a day (NDDB). Keep the water trough in the shade.
• Sprinkle and fan. In the hottest hours, sprinkle water on the animals every 15–20 minutes, or use timed misters, and run fans where there is power. Cooling matters most for high-yielding crossbreds (NDDB).
• Shade and wind. Where there are no trees, put up a thatched roof at least 9 ft high; block hot wind with thatch or wet gunny cloth; and feed in the cool of the morning, evening and night (NDDB).
• Humid heat is worse. Milk starts to fall at 23 °C when the air is 80% humid (NDDB).
• Buffaloes need a wallow or a shower. At 30–40 °C, let them wallow at least twice a day, or sprinkle water in the hot hours (ICAR-CIRB). The wallow must be clean and close by; otherwise shower them with cool water for 3 minutes twice a day (TNAU).
• Watch for heat stress: fast breathing or panting, an open mouth, drooling, and less eating and milk (NDDB). Move her to shade, wet her, and call your vet if she does not settle.

Dung, compost and biogas

• How much dung? An adult of 350–400 kg passes about 20–25 kg of dung and 8.5–10 litres of urine a day (NDDB).
• Clear it daily into a compost pit at a safe distance from the shed; composting kills worm eggs (ICAR-CIRB). NABARD's dairy units include a dung pit (NABARD).
• Biogas. TNAU's family biogas plants are 2 or 3 m³, sized to the dung you have (TNAU). Its 2–3 m³ solid-state plant takes 50 kg of fresh dung a day, about what 2 adult animals pass, and the slurry can go to the fields after 2–6 days (TNAU).
• Spare dung is manure for your own fields, or you can sell it: see cow dung ads.

Low-cost options

• A lean-to for one or two buffaloes. TNAU's simple shelter uses an existing wall: 3.6 m deep (a 0.9 m manger and 1.8 m to stand), 1.3 m wide per animal, 3 m high in front and 1.8 m at the back, with a thatch or tile roof and brick, bamboo or timber pillars (TNAU).
• What banks plan for. NABARD's 2026-27 Tamil Nadu figure for a simple shed, or for repairing an old one, is ₹350 a sq ft: ₹45,500 for 2 cows or ₹49,000 for 2 buffaloes (NABARD). Your costs will differ; see Dairy farming costs and income: a worked example.
• Government help. From 1 July 2026 the rural jobs scheme VB-G RAM G replaced MGNREGS (PIB). Its list of works includes shelters for cattle, first on the land of priority households and then for small and marginal farmers with a job card (TN Gazette). Ask your village panchayat or block office whether a shed can be sanctioned for you this year. Rules change — confirm with your village panchayat or block development office.

Common mistakes

• Building on low ground where rainwater collects.
• A smooth cement floor that turns slippery when wet.
• A bare iron-sheet roof with no paint and no shade around it.
• Keeping young calves in with the adult animals.
• Letting dung and urine pile up next to the shed.

Frequently asked questions

How much space does one cow need?

About 55–70 sq ft of floor if she is tied in a row: NDDB's stall is 5.5 × 10 ft, and TNAU allows 65–70 sq ft (TNAU). A buffalo needs 30–40 sq ft under the roof and 80–100 sq ft of open yard (ICAR-CIRB).

Which roof keeps the shed coolest?

Thatch is cooler than asbestos or tin sheets (ICAR-CIRB). If you use iron sheets, paint them silver on top (TNAU).

Do buffaloes need a pond?

No, if you cool them another way: a clean wallow near the shed, or a cool shower for 3 minutes twice a day (TNAU).

Next

Once the shed is ready, plan the feed: Dairy cow feeding: fodder, concentrate, minerals and water. When you are ready to buy, read How to buy a milch cow or buffalo: checks and papers and browse cows for sale and buffaloes for sale near you.